Just Another Saturday Night
by Laneta C
Summary: It started out as just another quiet night in Everwood, but before it was over the town would be forever changed. I ACTUALLY UPDATED. COMPLETE?
1. Prologue: Calm Before The Storm

Prologue: Calm before the storm  
  
"Daddy, I love him."  
  
As King Triton's daughter fought with her father on the flickering screen in front of them, Andy Brown's daughter snuggled deeper into her father's warm arms. The only two members of the Brown family in the house that night had sacked out on the couch to watch one of Delia's many favorite Disney movies, "The Little Mermaid". Originally, the other member of their family was supposed to have joined them but he had volunteered to get take out from Mamma Joe's and had mentioned stopping by the Abbotts' house on the way. Andy and Delia knew how easily distracted their dark-haired relative became when encountering the Abbotts' daughter, Amy, and after an hour had given up on Ephram, opting instead to survive on a large bowl of slightly burned, way too salty, but still consumable popcorn. Neither of the Browns had hope of the teenage boy returning any time soon and were not worried at all about the late hour that was quickly approaching.  
  
"Under the sea. Under the sea. Out in the sun-,"  
  
Sebastian's beautiful singing was abruptly interrupted when the sharp trill of the Browns' telephone sounded throughout the house. Glancing at the clock as he reached for the phone, Andy was surprised to find that the time was verging on midnight and he silently wondered who would be calling so late.  
  
"Hello."  
  
The panicked voice of Amy Abbott greeted Andy's ears and what he heard next caused him to pale considerably and sent the small girl on the couch running over to see why her daddy had tears falling down his face.  
  
"Dr. Brown, there's been an accident. Ephram's hurt. You need to come to Mamma Joe's right now." 


	2. Chapter 1: A Night Like Any Other

Chapter 1: A Night Like Any Other  
  
Amy Abbott's night had begun simply enough. She had just gotten off the phone with her boyfriend, Colin Hart, who was almost fully recovered from his recent surgery but too tired to do anything that particular Saturday evening. Just as Amy had prepared herself for a long boring night of watching mindless TV, her doorbell rang. Being the only person in her house at the time, she grudgingly lifted her body from the comfy couch that occupied her family's living room and stumbled lazily to the front door. Opening the door, she revealed her green-eyed best friend, Ephram Brown, standing on the other side.  
  
"Hi, Ephram, what's up?" Amy was puzzled as to why the pale, darkly clad teenager was at her house on this quiet spring night.  
  
"Hey, Amy. I know this sounds weird but I'm supposed to be picking up some food for my family at the diner and I just had a feeling that you might want to come along." Ephram tucked his hands awkwardly into his jacket and blushed as he berated himself for following his whim. He was sure that Amy was busy and he was embarrassed that he had come by at all.  
  
Amy smiled as she watched her friend's cheeks turn a cute shade of pink. Sometimes, the New York native amazed her. Only Ephram could have guessed that she was bored out of her mind and willing to do anything, even if anything was merely running to the diner to buy food for his family.  
  
"Well, it seems that your feeling was right. I'm going stir crazy. I've been sitting on the couch dreading doing nothing for the last half hour."  
  
"So, I guess that means you want to come." Ephram said, hopeful.  
  
"Absolutely, just let me write a note to my parents and lock up. Come on inside while I go find something to write on." Amy replied, opening the door wider as she turned to the kitchen to find a notepad.  
  
Ephram stood in the entryway of the Abbotts' house, marveling at his luck. He knew he was being stupid getting all worked up over something as simple as a trip to the diner, but he didn't care, he loved being around Amy, boyfriend or not.  
  
Amy finished the note to her parents, turning off all the lights in the house on her way back to the entryway. Grabbing her jacket, her keys, and Ephram's arm, she drug him out of the house, locking it behind her.  
  
As the two friends walked down the street they chatted about little insignificant things, avoiding serious world issues, family problems, or the subject of her boyfriend. The soft Colorado breeze that flowed around them made the night too nice for such discussions. 


	3. Chapter 2: Where It All Happened

Chapter Two: Where It All Happened  
  
Entering the diner, Ephram and Amy were greeted by the Browns' next-door neighbor and Mamma Joe's hardest-working waitress, Nina. "Hey, guys, it's about time you showed up Ephram, I stuck your food back in the oven because it was getting cold. If you'll give me a second, I'll get it for you."  
  
"Ok, thanks, Nina. I'm sorry I'm so late." Ephram apologized.  
  
"That's all right. I've just been waiting for closing time to come around so that I can run to Mrs. Hamilton's to pick up Sam." Nina called from the kitchen.  
  
"Here we go." Nina walked out of the kitchen, carrying a large bag of food. "Now, Ephram, you better hurry up and get home. If I know your father, he's given up on you and thinks that you will never return with his food. Aren't you eager to prove him wrong?" Nina smiled as her quiet neighbor laughed.  
  
"Hey, Nina." Amy was suddenly struck by inspiration. " Why don't you let Ephram and I watch the diner for you until closing time? That way you can pick Sam up and then come back to close the place up."  
  
"Oh, no, I couldn't let you do that. I'm sure Mrs. Hamilton won't mind watching Sam for a few extra minutes." Nina, said doubtfully.  
  
Ephram watched as Nina considered leaving them to look after the diner. "I think Amy's right. We can help clean up the place so that you only have to lock up after you pick up Sam." He said, wanting to help the kind woman who had assisted his family so selflessly.  
  
"No, I can't." Nina argued.  
  
Amy smiled and laughed as she grabbed Nina's arm and steered her toward the door. "We won't take no for an answer. You go pick up your son and by the time you get back this place will be all ready to shut down for the night."  
  
"Ok, ok, but only if your sure." Nina said, reluctantly grabbing her jacket and opening the door.  
  
"Of course we're sure. We wouldn't be offering if we weren't. So, goodbye. We will see you in a little bit." Amy successfully shoved Nina out the door.  
  
Turning as she heard her raven-haired friend laugh, her eyebrows raised in question. "What do we find so funny, Mr. Brown?" she asked mischievously.  
  
"It's just a little bizarre to see you shoving a grown woman out of her own place of employment." Ephram explained through his smile.  
  
"I certainly don't know what you mean. I simply assisted Nina in exiting the premises." Amy batted her eyelashes innocently.  
  
"Sure and I've decided to become best friends with your brother." Ephram stated sarcastically, earning him glare as the blonde stuck out her tongue at him.  
  
"Alright, that's enough chit chat. Let's get to work. Clear those dishes. I expect you to report to the kitchen sink in no less than one minute." Amy said sternly, trying to subdue the smile that longed to spread across her face.  
  
Ephram laughed, and then feigned seriousness, snapping his heels together and saluting his friend. "Yes, ma'am, sergeant, ma'am."  
  
Ephram quickly cleared the tables in the diner as Amy went to run the dishwater. After, gathering the large pile of plates, bowls, and silverware, he slipped into the kitchen, not noticing the sudden flame of heat that shot up in one corner of the wall. 


	4. Chapter 3: The Beginning Of A Nightmare

Chapter 3: The Beginning Of A Nightmare  
  
"Hey, stop! Ephram, seriously stop it! Oh, you jerk, you are so going down!" Amy screamed as Ephram sprayed her with water. "Ephram, stop!" She laughed, holding her hands in front of her in an attempt to halt the wet assault.  
  
Ephram laughed at his friend as she helplessly guarded herself. Their cleaning job had started innocently enough. They had been silently washing and drying the dishes for about fifteen minutes when Amy had splashed Ephram in the face with a handful of soapy water. After that, a full- fledged war had erupted, leaving both the teenagers and the entire back room of Mamma Joy's soaking wet.  
  
Once satisfied that Amy was sufficiently punished, Ephram returned the hose to its rightful place on the sink and sagged against the counter, laughing helplessly at the sodden girl who was evilly glaring at him through the thick strands of her dripping hair. After several minutes of breathless chuckling, the brunette made an attempt to gather himself together and stuck out his hand, offering a truce.  
  
Amy smiled mischievously and stuck her own hand into his. "Ok, I'll forgive you this time."  
  
"Good." Just as Ephram prepared to pull his hand out of hers, Amy's other hand snapped out from behind her back, grabbing a large water-filled bowl from the sink, and tipping it over Ephram's head.  
  
For a moment, Ephram just stood in shocked silence, water droplets rolling down his face, his jaw somewhere down around his ankles. Then, he simply laughed and continued shaking Amy's hand. "That was a good one. I deserved that."  
  
"Yes, you did." Amy couldn't get over how happy she was just standing in the back of the small diner, engaged in a water fight with her best friend. But then again, Ephram was always able to make the most boring of things into fun. She guessed that that was why he was her best friend.  
  
Glancing around the room, Ephram noticed the disaster area that their fight had resulted in. "Uh, Amy, I think we just made twice as much work for ourselves."  
  
Amy frowned as she surveyed the water on the floor, the counter, and everywhere else. The whole room had become one large puddle. Letting loose a great sigh; Amy retreated into the supply closet, quickly emerging with two mops. "Let's get to work."  
  
Ephram took one of the mops from her hand and began the long tedious chore of mopping up a whole room full of water. Fortunately, they had finished the dishes before they started fighting so as soon as they were finished with this, they just had to wait for Nina to come back and then they could leave. Speaking of Nina, Ephram silently wondered what was taking her so long to get back. Mrs. Hamilton's house was less than five minutes away. Shrugging, he lightly coughed as he felt a tickle in his throat.  
  
As Amy cleaned the floors, her nose kept itching. After a few minutes, she noticed that there was an odd smell in the room, and while trying to figure out what it was, she heard Ephram repeatedly coughing. Turning to her friend, she saw that he had quit traversing the floor and was leaning heavily against his mop. Concerned, she walked over to him.  
  
"Ephram, are you alright?" She questioned, tapping him on the shoulder.  
  
Ephram struggled to breathe as he replied. "No, I don't think I am." He was having a lot of trouble getting air in and it was beginning to scare him.  
  
"What's the matter?" Amy was growing more frightened as Ephram's coughs became deeper and longer.  
  
"I think that my asthma is acting up. I just have to get my inhaler out of my bag."  
  
"Asthma?" Amy hadn't even known that he had asthma.  
  
"Yeah, it's usually not a big deal. I don't know why it's so bad right now."  
  
"Alright, it's ok. Where's your backpack? I'll go get for you." Amy said, trying to support her friend as he leaned heavily against the mop.  
  
"It's somewhere in front." Ephram coughed out.  
  
Amy helped him lean against the wall and quickly went to the kitchen door, grabbing the knob as she wrenched it open. The second she touched the handle, a searing pain ripped through hand but by the time the pain permeated her mind, it was too late. The door was open and Amy Abbott stood staring into the face of a nightmare.  
  
A/N: Ok, I have to confess to only having seen about an episode and a half of Everwood when I started this story, but I became hooked. Due to my lack of knowledge, some of my facts may be wrong, so please forgive me. I do not know if Ephram has asthma in the show and if he does, whether Amy knows it or not. I just read in someone else's story that he did and decided it suited my story, so I used it. Forgive me if I'm wrong. Oh, and I'm sorry about the Mamma Joe's mix-up. I know that it's Mamma Joy's now, and I humbly beg your forgiveness and thank you for all the reviews, keep it up. 


	5. Chapter 4: Trying To Breathe

A/N: Hi, I'm so sorry it's been so long. Our Internet was down for about a week and then I was on a trip to a small town in Colorado, not Everwood, unfortunately, hehe. I was there for about ten days and had no access to a computer. So, please forgive my tardiness in posting this chapter. The story is just starting to get interesting so, enjoy. Remember to review.  
  
Chapter 4: Trying to Breathe  
  
"Oh my God, no," Amy whispered as she looked out into the front of Mamma Joy's. The sight her eyes beheld was terrible, horrible, and incredibly frightening. Everwood's favorite diner was filled with hot orange flames. Fire licked at the edges of the small cozy booths and tables. Flames raced up the painstakingly made curtains and smoke billowed throughout the once quaint and comfortable small-town diner.  
  
Ripping her eyes from the scene, Amy glanced back at her friend, growing quickly more alarmed. Ephram had quit coughing but what he was doing now was much more frightening. With his eyes at half-mast and his body sprawled on the floor, Ephram quietly struggled, only drawing in a shaky breath every once in a while. Amy could see that if she didn't get his inhaler soon, he would stop breathing completely. She wouldn't allow him to die. No, if they were going to die tonight, it would be because of the giant pillars of flame that shot up on the other side of the diner, not because of a simple asthma attack.  
  
Pulling in a deep breath, Amy turned back to the door and looked into the room full of fire. Her eyes roamed over the front of the diner, searching for Ephram's bag. There it was, resting on the counter. Amy said a silent prayer of thanks when she realized that the flames had not yet reached the area.  
  
Amy started to go into the inferno but hesitated in fear. For several agonizing moments, she debated on whether or not to risk her life for Ephram's inhaler but as she stood silently, she heard him strain to catch a single breath. Her mind set, Amy took her first step into the blaze.  
  
With her eyes focused on the gray and black backpack, Amy quickly ran the back of the restaurant to the counter. She grabbed Ephram's bag and hurried back to the kitchen, slamming the door behind her. Releasing the breath she had been holding, Amy dumped the contents of the backpack on the floor and sifted through them, looking for his inhaler. Seizing the white tube, Amy ran over to Ephram's nearly unconscious body.  
  
Dropping down next to him, Amy attempted to bring the teenager to full consciousness. "Come on, Ephram. Look, I got your inhaler. I don't know how to use it so you have to stay awake for me so I can help you. Ephram, open your eyes and sit up. I can't do this alone." Amy begged her friend. Upon seeing his bleary green eyes flutter open and his head weakly nod, Amy smiled in relief. She took his hand and cupped it around the inhaler and using her own hand to support his, she brought the device up to his mouth and held it as he pumped the medicine into his body.  
  
After several deep releases, Ephram signaled for her to drop his hand. Amy carefully set the inhaler on the ground and gripped his hand as he took numerous long restorative breaths. After a minute, Ephram was breathing normally again, but Amy knew it wouldn't last long. She was aware that the smoke from the fire was what made his asthma act up and since the fire obviously hadn't gone away, she knew that Ephram's easy breaths were only temporary. She dreaded telling him so.  
  
"Ephram, are you alright now?" Amy asked, deep concern in her eyes.  
  
Ephram softly smiled and nodded. "I think so." He said hoarsely. He slowly stood up and pushed himself off the wall, still holding her hand and pulling her up with him. Once were both settled on their feet, Amy threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, as if he would disappear if she didn't pull him close enough.  
  
"God, Ephram, don't ever do that to me again. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. You were so pale and I was sure you were going to pass out. I thought you were going to die and, god, Ham, I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Amy sobbed, tears dripping onto Ephram's shirt.  
  
Ephram held her and rubbed her back trying to sooth her tears. As much as he hated that she was so upset, a small part of him rejoiced to know that she cared so much. "It's okay, Amy, I'm all right now," but even as he said the words, Ephram felt his throat begin to close up again and he silently swore.  
  
"Look, we need to get out into the fresh air. It's too stifling in here and I can already feel my asthma acting up again." Ephram pulled Amy away far enough to look into her eyes. That was when he noticed that she was hesitating, holding something from him. "Amy what's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"  
  
Amy stiffened in shock. As always, Ephram knew exactly what she was feeling. She swallowed hard, preparing to tell him what was wrong. "I know why you had your asthma attack."  
  
"What?" Ephram was confused. "I know why I had my attack too. It's hot and stuffy back here."  
  
"No, Ephram, that's not all." Tears ran down Amy's cheeks as she struggled to speak. "There's. There's a fire."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The front of the diner... it's on fire. Everything outside that door is covered in flames. You had your attack because of the smoke and if we don't get out of here soon, you're going to have another one." 


	6. Chapter 5: Fear, Flames, and Heroes

Chapter 5: Fear, Flames, and Heroes  
  
Ephram wished with everything he had in him that Amy was lying. She was just joking around with him. She had to be. He didn't know what he would do if she wasn't.  
  
Ephram stared long and hard at Amy's worried face and saw that she wasn't lying but he had to prove it to himself. Spinning on his heel, he turned and marched purposefully to the kitchen door. He felt Amy's hands clutching at the sleeve of his shirt and somewhere in the back of his mind registered her pleading voice but his mind was set. If what Amy said was true then he wanted to stare his nightmare in the face and see what it had to say for itself. Wrapping his hand in a dishtowel, he grasped the doorknob and twisted. With his brow furrowed and his eyes determined he glared into the burning room for several moments, almost as if he was daring it to try and hurt him. Then he shut the door, turned to Amy, and crumpled to the floor with her in his arms.  
  
Amy watched as a million emotions played across Ephram's handsome face. Through his eyes, she could see the internal struggle he was fighting. On one hand he was obviously terrified and worried but on the other he was striving to be strong and brave for her. Seeing this, Amy squeezed him harder and pressed her head against his chest, longing to curl up in the safety of his arms and forget what was on the other side of the door. She knew she wouldn't be able to, but at the moment everything was okay, residing in his embrace. Unfortunately, the moment was just that, a single fleeting moment, that would eventually have to come to an end.  
  
Sighing heavily, Ephram gently grasped Amy's shoulders and pulled her up to face him. As much as he was enjoying having her in his arms he knew that they had to figure out a way out of here. He was already beginning to cough again and he had no idea if he could last long enough for help to come, assuming that that was why Nina was taking so long. She must have seen the fire upon returning to the diner and gone somewhere to get help but considering that Everwood had no fire department, Ephram knew it might be a while. So, he gripped Amy's hand tightly and tried to come up with a plan.  
  
"Okay, Amy, I know that you're scared and quite frankly so am I but-," Ephram was interrupted by a deep cough.  
  
"Use your inhaler, Ephram" Amy said, pressing the tube into his hand. She had picked it up when she first heard Ephram wheezing again.  
  
"Right" he said, taking a puff from the device. For now, that was enough and he was able to breathe relatively freely.  
  
"We need a plan. We have to figure out a way out of here. My inhaler's not going to be able to help me for much longer and if the fire keeps growing the way it is we're going to be trapped back here very soon. Now, here's what I had in mind. The back door is still mostly flame-free. I'm thinking that we can make it through there if we hurry. The path is clear. We may have to avoid some of the tables and other furniture but I think we'll be okay. We just really need to hurry. I pretty sure that the ceiling is going to start coming down soon and well, we definitely don't want to be in here when that happens." Ephram explained his plan while staring into Amy's eyes, hopefully leading her to believe that he had some idea of what he was talking about.  
  
Amy swallowed hard and nodded once, assuring Ephram that she understood. Silently, the two agreed to his plan and stood, facing the door, one of her hands entwined in his, the other clutching his inhaler. Ephram placed his covered hand on the knob then glanced quickly at her. Seeing the determined set of her jaw, he threw open the door and they began to run.  
  
Sprinting across the diner, Ephram felt the heat of the fire surrounding him, suffocating him. He held his shirt over his mouth, trying to delay the inevitable asthma attack as long as possible. He clutched at Amy's hand as they deftly skirted tables, and took great leaps to get away from the flames that crept up the walls. In her eagerness to get to the door, Amy soon began pulling him, adrenaline pushing her faster as Ephram's asthma zapped his energy, leaving him coughing and slow. Then, the terrible happened.  
  
They were about seven feet from the door when Ephram heard a loud creaking. Then everything began to happen very fast. One second, he was looking up into the burning beam that was falling right toward the spot that Amy was about to step into. The next, his hands were on her back, the force propelling her forward but pushing him back. Then, finally, he stood separated from the beautiful blond by a burning barrier that had no plans of letting him pass.  
  
Amy could see Ephram's face through the flickering flames. Tears flowed anew from her eyes as she realized that she was right next to the back door, one step away from safety, but Ephram stood apart from her, seemingly light-years away.  
  
"No, God, no." Amy quietly whimpered.  
  
"Amy, listen to me!" Ephram yelled over the crackling of the fire. "You have to go! Open the door and leave!"  
  
"No, I can't leave you in here!" she cried.  
  
"Amy, you have to! Look, I'll go back to the kitchen. The fire still hasn't reached it. I'll wait for you! I promise you I'll be fine until you send someone back to get me! But Amy, you have to go out that door and get help!"  
  
"Okay, I will! I'll go! But I'm going to be back soon, you'll see! You're going to be okay!" Amy said tearfully, trying to convince herself.  
  
"I know, I trust you, Amy." Ephram said, smiling encouragingly at her.  
  
"Alright then, I'll see you soon." Wrapping her sleeve around her hand, Amy grasped the doorknob and twisted, still turned toward Ephram, staring at him, until the door slid closed, blocking her view of what could be the last time she ever saw the quiet boy who had come into her town and changed her life. 


	7. Chapter 6: Helping Her Out, Holding Her ...

Chapter 6: Helping Her Out, Holding Her Back  
  
The instant the door of Mamma Joy's shut, Amy's body crumpled to the ground. All the adrenaline that had been pushing her to continue now swept out of her body in one big wave. Her lungs burned, and her hand was beginning to blister but most of all, her heart hurt.  
  
When Amy saw the beam crash down to separate her from Ephram, everything had stopped. She was torn in two in that one instant. One side of her longed to stay with the boy who meant more to her than she wanted to believe, the other side needing to get out so that she could save herself and him. Her heart controlled the first side, her head the latter. Her head had won out and her heart was in agony from the defeat. Her aching lungs were pierced with pain as she began to sob. She wanted with all her being to be inside that diner, holding Ephram's hand, listening to his rich voice sooth her nerves. Now, she might never have that again.  
  
As a fresh wave of tears flooded her face, she felt a pair of soft, strong arms envelop her and she allowed her body to settle comfortably in the warm aura, not caring who she was leaning against, just caring that whoever it was felt safe, knowing she was being protected.  
  
Her human pillow began to rock her back and forth as tears continued to cascade down her face. A soothing murmur flowed into her ears, the words illegible but the sounds and the breath warm and comforting. Large hands rubbed her back and left her feeling almost complete.  
  
Amy wallowed in the presence of this angel for several minutes as her tears began to subside, eventually slowing to a light but steady trickle. She couldn't completely stop, she wouldn't be able to until the arms that held her were Ephram's. With this in mind, Amy pulled sharply away from the reassuring presence, turning her self off from the warm embrace, and revealing her body to the rough, smoky air, mind determined to forget about herself and this relief and focus instead on the boy who lay inside the burning restaurant, holding her heart.  
  
As Amy pulled away she felt the large hands tighten on her arms, trying to hold her back. Enraged that someone was trying to keep her from getting up and helping Ephram, she forcibly tore herself from the hands and looked up to glare into the eyes of the man who had held her but now, was infuriating her. But when she saw that she recognized the eyes, her glare turned into shock and surprise. Shock at whom she was seeing and surprise at what she was feeling as she looked into those eyes.  
  
A/N: I know it's horribly short and mean and evil, especially since it's been so long since I updated (camp, computer problems, and writer's block) but I really liked this cliffhanger and I'm curious to see whom ya'll think the "angel" is. I think it's pretty obvious but I wanna know what you think. So review and maybe the next chapter will be longer. Sorry about the weird characters. FF's been doing that a lot lately and I don't know how to fix it. NEway, thanks for reading, please review. 


	8. Chapter 7: Missing Emotions, Getting Hel...

A/N: Okay, people, thank you for all the reviews for Chapter 6, I'm sorry it took me so long. Oh and dramanerd13 (hey, I'm a drama nerd, too) it was more than 10 words long. It had to be at least 11. ( Anyway, congrats to bright8 and dramanerd13 for guessing correctly the identity of the "angel". Half the points to sister of the moon and luvcarter for guessing the identity of the angel but adding a few more choices. All of you win...drumroll, please...an exciting trip to the bottom of page were you will get an all-expense paid button that you can click on to leave a generous review. Thanks to all my reviewers, even those who didn't guess, please enjoy the chapter, the next chapter will be better, and the one after that is the best one I've written so far, if I do say so myself. I keep myself 2 chapters ahead of my postings so I still have to write 2 more before you get to see the good chapter, so keep watching. Thanks, review, bye.  
  
Chapter 7: Missing Emotions, Getting Help, and Losing Hope  
  
"Colin."  
  
Amy sat on the cold ground trying desperately to pull her arms away from her boyfriend.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she questioned the boy.  
  
"Your mom called my mom. She said that you were trapped in the burning diner so, of course, I wanted to come and make sure you were okay." Colin said worriedly, smoothing her hair with one hand while the other continued to hold her arm in an almost painful grip.  
  
Amy knew she should feel comforted by his soothing caresses but she was surprised to find that she felt nothing but continued worry and fear for Ephram's safety. Since Colin had come through his second surgery and regained his memory, Amy had been walking around in a protective bubble of joy and happiness. She had been ecstatic as they had began to date again and he returned to the Colin she knew before the accident. Every time she caught a glimpse of his face she had been renewed with gratitude but right now, there was no wave of jubilation crashing over her and all she could see when she looked at him was a roadblock, keeping her from helping Ephram.  
  
Amy reached up and grasped Colin's arm, breaking his grip on her own limb. His eyes looked startled and confused as she forcibly pulled herself away from him and stood up.  
  
"Amy, what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to get help."  
  
"Help? Amy you're out. You're okay. Let's just get your dad to look at your hand and then we can go home." Colin said, gripping her shoulder and trying to steer her toward her family who stood at the edge of the parking lot.  
  
"No, Colin. I'm not leaving until Ephram is out of that building and I can't believe you would want to. He saved my life and you're willing to just go home and leave him here to suffer alone. No, I'm not leaving." Amy said, slowly and steadily, her voice struggling to hide her disgust at even the thought of leaving. Wrenching herself from his side, Amy strode over to the Nina who was talking to a police officer, leaving Colin standing alone, dumbstruck and confused.  
  
When Amy drew nearer to Nina and the cop, they noticed her coming and Nina ran to meet her, hugging her tightly when she reached the young girl.  
  
"Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry. I never should have left you guys here alone. I'm so glad you're all right. Oh, God, if Ephram's hurt, it's all my fault." Nina mumbled tearfully.  
  
Amy pulled back from the older woman and grabbed her hand tightly, new tears sprung in her eyes but her jaw was set hard. "Nina, don't even say that. You had no idea this was going to happen. If something does happen to Ephram, which it won't, you will not be responsible in any way. In fact, it's probably better that we were there together than if you were here alone. At least we had you to get help. You would have had no one. So please, Nina, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." Amy said resolutely, pulling Nina in for a brief, fierce hug.  
  
Once Nina had nodded in agreement, Amy felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to the officer who had been standing there silently.  
  
"Ma'am, I would like to ask you a few questions if I may?"  
  
"Sure, but first I would like for you to answer a few for me."  
  
"Ok, what do you need to know?"  
  
"First of all, you have sent for help, haven't you?" At the officer's nod, Amy continued, "Ok then, how long until the firefighters get her? Is an ambulance on its way? And when will someone get Ephram out of that diner?"  
  
"Well, as you may know the only fire dispatchers in the area are the forest fire rangers, so we have to wait for them to get here, which should be sometime in the next ten or fifteen minutes. We didn't know how severe any injuries might be so we had the hospital in Denver send a Medi-Copter, which is already here, sitting in the field down the block and we will have your friend out as soon as possible. We would have had him out already but we got here just as you were coming out and as you can see, there is no way that anyone but the professionals can handle it now." He said, pointing in the direction of the diner.  
  
Amy slowly turned around and got her first outside look of the burning restaurant. What she saw instantly filled her heart with fear. The fire looked almost worse from the outside than it had from the inside. Flames licked every surface she set her eyes on. Fire crawled up the walls. Windows had busted from the terrible heat and the exposed curtains blew in the wind, making the fire that covered them dance and writhe in the air. The back door she had escaped from only minutes before was now just a solid block of flame. As she watched, she could see part of the roof fall in, praying with all she had in her that Ephram wasn't sitting under that particular portion of covering. Tears streamed heavily down her face and her chest heaved with hard, quaking sobs. She shoved her hands deep into her jacket pockets, trying to find warmth that wasn't there. Feeling something hard nestled within the pouch, she pulled out the object and her jaw dropped. All hope went fleeing from her mind as she recognized the white tubular inhaler, Ephram's only chance to survive inside that smoky building, outside with her. 


	9. Chapter 8: The Rescue

A/N: Great news! Your generous reviews caused inspiration to strike and I stayed up till 4 last night, writing. I have finished up to Chapter 14 but I will continue only to post one chapter at a time. I won't give you a number to how many days will be between each post but let's just say that reviews make me much more willing to transfer the chapter from the terrible handwriting their in now, in my notebook, to my computer, then to FF.net. Be warned, they are long chapters and I'm not a big fan of typing, so I need encouragement but believe me, it will be worth it. This stuff is the best writing I've ever done, fanfiction or not. Well, now that I've stopped bragging, I live you with 2 simple instructions, no 3, no 4. Number 1: Read This Chapter. Number 2: Review. Number 3: Check back for more. Number 4: Enjoy.  
  
Chapter 8: The Rescue  
  
"Ma'am...Ma'am, are you okay?"  
  
Amy snapped out of her devastated daze to turn to the policeman who had clearly been addressing her for some time now. She vaguely saw his mouth continue to move but nothing processed in her brain as she tightly clutched the inhaler in her hand.  
  
Apparently, the officer noticed her preoccupation because he stopped himself in mid-sentence and gestured to the inhaler.  
  
"Is that yours ma'am? Do you have asthma? Are you having an attack?" he asked, afraid that his one witness was about to pass out on him.  
  
"What? No...No, it's not my inhaler. It's Ephram's." As the words passed over her lips, their full impact hit her. Ephram was inside a burning building, alone and unable to breathe, he didn't have his inhaler, he didn't have help, and he was in incredible danger. If they were able to get him out before he was burned alive, it would be too late, he would have already died from suffocation.  
  
"Oh, God, no. It's all my fault." Amy whispered as the realization struck her.  
  
"What are you talking about Ms. Abbott? What's all your fault?" the policeman asked, suddenly grasping her arms tightly.  
  
"Ephram's going to die and it will be all my fault. I forgot to give him his inhaler. I left him alone with nothing. He has asthma; he'll have stopped breathing by now. He's dead, I know it. It's all my fault. It's all my fault! I killed him! Oh God, no! Ephram!" Amy's knees went weak and she wobbled as she felt her heart break into tiny pieces. She began sobbing more than she had all night. She barely registered the feeling of the officer's arms encircling her body, easing her onto the ground as she was wracked with heavy suffocating howls. She didn't feel Nina's hand grip her shoulder and she definitely didn't hear the sound of sirens as a fire truck pulled into the parking lot and yellow-suited firemen began unloading from the vehicle, toting large hoses and heading towards the burning diner. She just shook with deeper and deeper sobs, eventually running out of tears and finally just heaving dryly as she continued to weep. Suddenly, though, she felt the gentle officer shake her and grab her chin, pulling her eyes up to meet his.  
  
"Ms. Abbott, Amy, we need you to tell us what part of the restaurant your friend was in. They've put out the fire. They're going in to get him."  
  
"Why does it matter?" Amy heard herself saying dully, "He's already dead. He's dead and I killed him."  
  
Suddenly, Nina grasped her shoulders harshly and spun her around to face her.  
  
"Amy Nicole Abbott, you did not kill Ephram. He's not dead and if he was it wouldn't be your fault. You accidentally forgot to give him his inhaler. It was an accident. It's amazing that you remembered how to walk after the night you've been through. Ephram's not dead and it's not your fault. So get a hold of yourself and tell the officer where to find him." Nina's words were harsh, but her eyes were filled with pain and sympathy.  
  
"How do you know he's not dead?" Amy couldn't seem to pull herself out of the pit she found herself wallowing in.  
  
"Because I know Ephram. He wouldn't give up that easily. You know he wouldn't."  
  
And as Amy saw the strong belief in Nina's eyes, she did know it. Ephram was not one to give up. He would fight with everything he had in him to get out alive.  
  
Resolved, Amy turned back to the once burning, now merely wet, black, and still slightly smoky building. After getting her bearings and searching her mind she ran over to the fireman who looked to be in charge of the rescue. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around with strength she didn't know she possessed.  
  
"Ephram's in the kitchen. It's on the far south side of the building, towards the back."  
  
"Ok, ma'a..."  
  
"No, my name is Amy not ma'am and anything you say to me can wait until after you find him. Now go."  
  
The tall fireman nodded, staring unbelievably at the petite blond who had just told him to hurry his ass up. He turned to his crew and began shouting out orders, soon venturing into the blackened diner. He and the other men on his team sifted their way through the debris that had once been tiny cozy tables, comfortable cushy booths, perfect for cuddling with your significant other, and lacy homemade curtains that had once fluttered lightly in the wind coming through the open window, but now hung wet and charred, dripping in the cold night air.  
  
The tall fireman carefully pulled off the debris that blocked the door to the kitchen and made his way in. Looking around, his eyes came to rest on what appeared to be a shoe buried underneath a large pile of what was once the roof.  
  
"Oh, please Lord, no." the compassionate man muttered to himself as he approached the pile. Carefully pulling off a large piece of wood, the strong masculine fireman felt tears spring to his eyes as he discovered that a leg was attached to the shoe. He had found the boy who obviously meant so much to the courageous girl outside and he was devastated to think of what he might find under the foot of debris.  
  
Once again screaming for his crew, they began to quickly and carefully remove the debris. Fortunately, they didn't find any terribly large pieces which would have crushed the boy had they fallen on him but as they drew nearer the bottom of the pile, droplets of blood began to appear and the men each found themselves wiping their eyes so that they could continue to see clearly. Finally, after removing a particularly large piece of debris, they found him and the tears flowed freely.  
  
Amy stood silently in the cold, staring at the building in which the firemen had entered several minutes before. Her eyes began to sting as she faced the smoky wind but she refused to look away. She was going to see Ephram come out. Hopefully, walking on his own and smiling that adorable half-smile that he seemed to reserve for her and her alone.  
  
After several more minutes, she saw him come out but it was not the way she dreamed. In fact, it was very nearly her worst nightmare. Running up to him, with Nina closely following, she reached him and thought she might faint. As fresh silent tears cascaded down her cheeks, she heard Nina whisper behind her.  
  
"I forgot to call Andy." 


	10. Chapter 9: He Thought He Knew

A/N: I've taken a few liberties with Andy's past and I've guessed at his age but this is a really good chapter, so read it and review, please. Oh, and thanks for the reviews from the last chapter. Bye.  
  
Chapter 9: He Thought He Knew  
  
Andy Brown thought that he had experienced real pain. When he was five, watching his father's fists collide with his mother's face, he thought he knew pain. When he was sixteen, lowering the carcass of the monster he called Father into the earth and watching his moms heart break over a man who didn't deserve it, he thought he knew pain. When he was twenty-five, announcing the time of death for the first patient he couldn't save, he thought he knew pain. When he was thirty-seven, walking out on the wife who cheated on him, he thought he knew pain. Two weeks later, saying goodbye to a body in a casket that was no longer his everything, he thought he knew pain. Eight months later, listening to his son scream his hatred of him, he thought he knew pain. But Andrew Brown did not know pain. Not until now.  
  
This was pain. The instant he heard Amy's quivering voice over the phone, he felt fear, but not pain, not like this. Pain was definable to him now. Pain meant watching as life was shocked into your son's broken, burned, and battered body. Pain was seeing a straight green line continue without interruption across a black screen. Pain was looking at your son's chest as it failed to rise and fall. Pain was hearing a deep voice pronounce time of death over your son, the only person who made you feel alive anymore, even if it was with anger. Pain was the humiliation of hearing a whiny, broken voice plead for one more shot and knowing that the pathetic sound was coming from your voice.  
  
But wait, this wasn't pain. Hearing one more shock and, finally, seeing the green line move. There was something wrong, thought. Andy's son's chest still failed to move. The pain returned. Questioning, he turned to the white-clad man standing over the metal gurney.  
  
"He's not breathing on his own. There seems to be a lot of damage to his lungs. Does he have asthma?" the sympathetic eyes of the man were puzzled.  
  
"Yes," Andy heard himself answer. "But he had his inhaler. I saw him take it with him."  
  
"That may be, but you know as well as I do that the forty-five minutes he spent in that smoke would harm an asthmatic considerably, inhaler or not." The man reasoned.  
  
"He didn't have his inhaler." Andy heard a small voice behind him whisper. Turning, he saw Amy hugging herself tightly; tear tracks glistening on her cheeks.  
  
"Amy, what do you mean? Of course he had his inhaler. He knows better than to leave it behind." Andy said softly, seeing that the girl was close to falling apart.  
  
"He didn't leave it behind. At first, he had it. He was using it. But then, we got separated and I realized I had it. The last twenty or so minutes he was in there without it, because of me." Amy ended on a whisper.  
  
Andy chose to ignore the young girl's self-deprecating remark. He was more concerned with the words she had said before. If Ephram had been in that building without his inhaler, he surely would have had an attack within the first few minutes. This greatly alarmed Andy. All the smoke would have been bad enough on healthy lungs, he didn't even want to think about what kind of effect it had on his son's already weak ones. Fortunately, he was interrupted from dwelling on all the worst-case scenarios that suddenly flew through his mind.  
  
"Okay, we're going to load up and head back to Denver. There isn't room in the copter for anyone to travel with us but Officer Randall here," the paramedic pointed to the tall man who stood over Amy, looking upon her with concern, "will escort you to the hospital in your car. We're going to take Ephram straight into surgery when we get there and then he'll be in ICU, so it's probably best that only family come. Except you ma'am," he addressed Amy, "You need that hand looked at and we need to check you for smoke inhalation."  
  
Amy nodded, obviously not wanting to be left out because she wasn't family.  
  
Andy nodded at the paramedic and looked down at his son, a fresh wave of devastation crashing over him, even though, he had seen the horrible sight already. Ephram lay strapped to the gurney, neck brace and backboard holding him stiff, with an oxygen mask covering part of his mouth and nose. The rest of his face was painted with fresh red cuts and purple bruises, blood slowly seeping out from underneath a once-white bandage taped to his temple. Thankfully, his face had been spared the terrible burning that had ravaged his right side and legs, leaving sickening bloody, black charred flesh were once there had been smooth white skin. The burns couldn't be covered up, Andy knew, the bandages would become stuck to the healing flesh. Ephram left arm was strapped into a thick splint and his ribs were wrapped in layers and layers of white bandage, holding them stable. The worst sight of all the terrible sights that Andy saw when looking upon his son was the closed eyelids that seemed to stare at him more than the green- gray orbs lying underneath ever had.  
  
Grasping his son's right hand, one of the few uninjured spots on his body, Andy leaned over the gurney and whispered into his sons ear as his tears fell onto the white sheet below.  
  
"I'll see you soon, son. You'll be okay. You won't leave me. I won't let you. I love you, son. Hold on." Placing a soft kiss on Ephram's cheek, Andy stepped back and watched as the paramedics loaded the gurney into the helicopter and it lifted into the air.  
  
Pulling in his breath and drying his eyes, he turned to Nina, busy with a sobbing Delia in one arm and a sleeping Sam in the other, and placed his hand on her back, steering her towards the car.  
  
"But Andy, I'm not fam-," Nina sputtered, wide-eyed.  
  
"Yes, you are." The blue eyes of Andy Brown were fierce, determined to get to his son. Glancing behind him to see Amy get into her parents car as it's lights turned on and pointed to the highway, then in front of him as Officer Randall settled into his police cruiser and began flashing the red and blue lights, Andy nodded silently and walked towards his own car, towards his son. 


	11. Chapter 10: Not The Way It Was Supposed ...

Chapter 10: Not The Way It Was Supposed To Be  
  
It wasn't supposed to be like this. The night had started out so well. Amy hadn't had a chance to spend much time with Ephram recently, so when he had shown up at her door, she had been ecstatic, realizing how much she missed her wry, sarcastic friend.  
  
The blonde girl and the brown-haired boy had never really expressed the level of their friendship to each other. They each thought that their casual acquaintance had grown and matured over the months of talking, laughing, Ferris wheels, and waiting rooms but neither knew if the other felt the same. They were afraid to call one another their best friend, rejection looming like red-hot flames in a smoky wooden building. So they just continued on, ignoring and taking for granted what was probably the most important relationship either one would ever have.  
  
Amy was no loner taking her best friend for granted. After the terrible night she had seen she now vowed to always appreciate the pale, skinny, handsome, green-eyed boy who had saved her life. She just hoped she would get the chance to show him how much she cared about him and their friendship.  
  
With a sight, Amy shifted in her hard, plastic chair. The comfy couch she had resided in during both of Colin's surgeries was currently occupied by Sam and Delia, the young girl finally giving in to exhaustion and falling asleep alongside the blonde five-year old who had slept through all of the drama. While Amy was glad to see Delia's tears finally stop and her eyelids slide closed, her stiff body selfishly longed for the comfort of the soft, squashy, familiar sofa.  
  
After arriving at Denver General Medical Center, Amy had begged to see Ephram. The other doctors as well as her father had to literally drag her to an examination room; one doctor explaining that they had to check her out and besides, Ephram was in surgery. After being assured that the injured boy would be in the O.R. for much longer than it would take to check her out, Amy had allowed the medical staff to bandage her blistered hand. She was told that the slight burn from opening the hot metal doorknob would heal quickly; she wouldn't even have a scar to show for her troubles. After that she was checked for smoke inhalation and told that as long as she didn't take off sprinting down the hospital corridors, she would be fine. Her throat would be a little scratchy for a few days and she might have some minor coughing spells but other than that she was perfect. Too bad she didn't feel too perfect.  
  
Ephram had been in surgery for two hours. After getting cleared by the doctors and forcing her parents to go home and sleep, Amy had found Dr. Brown and Nina, standing outside the door of O.R. 3, Nina had quietly explained that Ephram had gone into cardiac arrest again on the way to the hospital. After resuscitating him, the paramedics had doubled their speed to get to the medical center, afraid that they wouldn't be able to bring him back if he arrested again. Arriving at the hospital, he had been taken straight to the O.R. The doctors had been planning only to repair his pierced lung, but had discovered severe internal injuries and heavy hemorrhaging. Apparently one of the pieces of roof debris that fell on Ephram had done damage to his pancreas, liver, and spleen. His pancreas and liver had been easily fixed but his spleen had to be removed and he lost a lot of blood. Now, they were all waiting for the doctors to finish some tests they took Ephram to when his surgery ended. The doctors were supposed to come and update them on his condition.  
  
Amy shifted again, finding it impossible to get comfortable. Giving in to defeat she stood up and walked over to Nina, who stood with her hand on Dr. Brown's shoulder, whispering reassurances at the man's turned back. As she stopped beside the couple, Amy saw a white-jacketed doctor, Ephram's doctor, walk towards them down the hall. She held her breath as the doctor asked to speak to Dr. Brown alone and Ephram's father choked out that he would rather Nina and Amy hear now so that he wouldn't have to repeat whatever he was told.  
  
"We can handle anything you have to say. Don't hold back." Nina said, seeing the doctor's doubt. Amy nodded in agreement.  
  
"Alright but this is going to take a while. We should probably sit down."  
  
Amy moved them a little way down the hall to four chairs that sat outside O.R. 1, wanting to spare Delia if she woke up and heard something bad. They settled into the chairs and leaned forward, waiting for the doctor to begin.  
  
"Well, let's see, you already know the complications we came across in surgery. It was unfortunate that we had to remove Ephram's spleen but it was better the spleen than the liver or pancreas. He lost a large amount of blood; it's going to be quite a long while before he will regain his strength. After the surgery we took him to x-ray and MRI. The x-rays showed that Ephram broke more of his ribs than we originally thought, five in all. His arm also broke in two places; he'll be in a cast for about eight weeks. We don't have the CAT scan results yet and we haven't spoken to the burn specialist, either. The x-ray was going to be put off also but we needed to see the placement of the broken ribs in order to clarify the MRI picture of Ephram's lungs. You see, we put a rush on the MRI results because we spotted something rather alarming during surgery." The doctor suddenly stopped, putting his head in his hand and pinching his brow.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong with my son?" Dr. Brown pleaded, desperate.  
  
"This is hard to say," the doctor drew in a large breath, slowly releasing it in short bursts, "Ephram's lungs were more damaged than we thought. He wasn't able to breathe on his own and....he won't be able to, ever."  
  
"What?" Dr. Brown whispered, tears filling his pained eyes. Amy knew how he felt; she herself was feeling her heart break and die.  
  
"The MRI showed extensive damage. Ephram's lungs are essentially destroyed. They won't heal; they can't heal enough for him to ever be off a ventilator. Eventually, he may even worsen and be unable to operate on even a ventilator but Dr. Brown, Andy, Ephram will never get better. He will be on a ventilator, on life support for the rest of his life, which will be significantly shortened. He will also probably never awaken. The ventilator provides only enough only to keep the body alive, not to stimulate the brain. Ephram is fifteen now. He could spend the next fifty years unconscious and surviving only by the use of machines. Unless..."  
  
"Unless? Unless what?" Andy interrupted, breaking through the haze he had fallen into at the small sign of hope.  
  
"Unless you decide to let him go, to pull the plug."  
  
A/N: Yeah, I know. I'm evil and terrible and the devil incarnate and Lucifer himself or whatever else you want to call me, but you know you still love me. Thank you so much for all the reviews from Chapter 9, I think that's the most reviews I've ever gotten on one chapter. Let's try to set another new record. So hit that review button and stay tuned. Will Andy pull the plug? Will Ephram live or die? Will Delia be devastated by the news? Will Colin ever get the girl? (Probably not, tehe) Find out in future chapters of Just Another Saturday Night. 


	12. Chapter 11: A Decision He Couldn't Make

A/N: Thank you very much for all your feedback from the last chapter. I was surprised at how fast you responded. And I have discovered that you all are smarter than me. I hadn't even thought of a lung transplant but fortunately my own intuition seems to have saved me. I went and read about lung transplants and it specifically says that people with kidney or liver problems should not have such a surgery. Well, Ephram had liver problems. So, he can't have a transplant. It's kinda funny actually I didn't even know any of that when I wrote about Ephram having trouble with his liver. Oh well, I don't feel like adding all this into the chapter. So here's your explanation. Ok, read and review, please. Thanks for your encouragement guys. I really appreciate it. Ciao.  
  
Chapter 11: A Decision He Couldn't Make  
  
How was he supposed to make a decision like this? How could he be expected to decide whether his son lived or died? He wouldn't do it. He couldn't.  
  
Andy rubbed the side of his face, flattening his beard. He stood in the doorway of ICU 10, gazing at his son, trying to make a decision he couldn't make.  
  
Looking at Ephram like this, it was terrifying to imagine the once living, breathing young man look like this for the rest of his life. The sterile, impersonal, cold atmosphere in the hospital room had produced an even worse sight than the one he had seen in the parking lot of Mamma Joy's. Ephram's thin frame made him appear so small underneath the thin stiff hospital blankets, his skinny body swallowed up by the large bed. His frighteningly pale skin almost matched the clean white bandage wrapped around his head, making the deep cuts and large bruises on his face seem to stand out in livid, bright reds and purples.  
  
Andy wondered briefly, morbidly why they had set Ephram's arm in the large white cast, knowing that he probably wouldn't live long enough to heal the broken bone. Continuing on the path of morbidity, he glimpsed the thick bandage covering Ephram's side and leg through the thin hospital gown that provided him no protection from the refrigerated cold of the large hospital and wondered why they even bothered.  
  
Andy's eyes traveled up Ephram's body, noticing the thinness of his legs under the blanket, the needle stuck into his pale hand, and the thick white ventilator tube taped to his mouth. The tube was the only thing that kept his son alive and for a moment, Andy closed his eyes and dreamt of seeing his son in this same hospital bed with the same injuries, the same sterility, but without the large metal ventilator. Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes, he saw that even that terrible sight was better than the one he viewed now.  
  
Andy tried to imagine this room five years from now. It would still be cold and white. Ephram wouldn't have all the bandages covering him but his body would have wasted away, the thin legs mere chopsticks, the IV sticking into a bony, white hand. Even after he recovered from the blood loss he would continue to be as pale as the blanket stretched over him, his skin never again feeling the touch of the sun. The tube would still be there, causing his chest to rise and fall weakly, a machine breathing life into his lungs.  
  
Sure, he would be alive, he might have even grown, maybe he would have sprouted a few inches, losing the roundness of youth, gaining the sharp edges of manhood, but the eyes would never open again. The nurses who combed his hair, washed his face, and brushed his teeth would never know the eyes of the man they bathed every day. The new doctor who longed to have the life support kid off his caseload would never have seen the way light reflected like a million tiny rays of sun from the green irises when he laughed. The various housekeeping staff who came in to empty the trash of old IV bags would never see the way his eyes appeared almost totally gray when it rained and the sun hid behind the clouds. Everyone moving around the silent man in the bed, not knowing that when he was angry his pupils would enlarge and the tranquil jade would flash dark green, almost black.  
  
Andy couldn't stand the image flashing behind his closed lids, or the one he saw when he allowed the lids to drift open. So, he closed them again, hoping for something better.  
  
Once again he saw a body lying in a bed, but this bed was covered in a thick white and yellow bedspread and the body was smaller and more feminine, with its eyes wide open. Sadly, the big brown eyes of the little girl were filled with tears and her thin frame shook with sobs as she clutched a brown book in her hands, tears leaking onto the pages that read, 'I am grateful for...'. Her nose ran and her hands trembled as she turned the pages. She was clothed in a black dress and all her hats lay forgotten and uncared for in a heap on the floor. A destructive search to find the one and only hat her brother had ever given her had left the hats in the mess. She had wanted to wear it when she said goodbye. The girl slowly stood from her bed, straightening her dress and smoothing her hair, but not bothering to wipe away the tears, knowing they would only come back. With one last glance around the room and a little sob that slipped uncontrollably out of her mouth when she couldn't find the hat, she laid the book on the bed and walked out of the room, flicking a switch and leaving the room in darkness, not seeing the shaft of moonlight that peaked through her window and onto a small blue hat, resting on the closet floor, stuffed between a shoe and an ice skate.  
  
Andy knew the decision would be easy if these were the only images he saw, but his biggest problem was that the second set of images would still be true, only without the black dress.  
  
Andy knew. He had made the decision he couldn't make. 


	13. Chapter 12: Realizing Too Late

* She walks out onto a dark empty stage, blackness and silence enveloping  
her shuddering figure. Slowly she raises her head, terrified at the  
thought of what was about to happen to her. As her neck is straightened,  
a bright white light falls on her body, and it begins. Objects of various  
size and shape hurtle through the air, each one aimed toward her, each  
one hitting with a terrible thud, then cluttering to the floor. Over and  
over she is hit, eventually falling to the floor, dead. *  
  
A/N: HEHE, that was fun. I'm not overdramatic or anything am I? Anyway, I sincerely apologize for my extreme lateness with this chapter. Please don't stone me. School started, I'm a senior, I'm suddenly super involved in like everything, and I've been having some personal problems. I honestly haven't thought about this story in like a month. Please forgive me. I'm sorry if I scared anyone into thinking this wouldn't be finished. It will be, even if I have to spend the rest of my life doing so. Hopefully, it won't take that long but who knows. Ok, let's see, um, season 2 of the actual show does not apply to this story. I began this after Home and that's how it's going to stay. Colin's not dead. Amy doesn't hate Andy. It's all like it was when season 1 ended. So, on with the story. I hope you enjoy. Please review. The next chapter will probably be up in a few weeks, but I've got SATs soon so I make no promises. Just keep checking back. Thanks for your continued support of my little story. Review.  
  
Chapter 12: Realizing Too Late  
  
So, she was supposed to say goodbye. He wouldn't hear her; she had learned at least that much from her nightmare with Colin. She wasn't doing this for him; she was doing it for herself. Dr. Brown had made a decision and now she needed to say goodbye but she wasn't sure that she knew how. She couldn't figure out how to let go of the boy who had changed her boring little life into something almost scary in it's fast, dizzying excitement.  
  
Amy settled into the chair beside Ephram's bed, holding his hand and staring at the thick tube that protruded from his mouth.  
  
"He's already gone," she suddenly whispered to herself, "Why am I even saying goodbye, he already left. I'm too late. God wouldn't keep him here like this. He's already gone. He's gone. He left me. He's not coming back." And then, out of nowhere, Amy felt overcome with rage. She wrenched her hand from Ephram's limp one.  
  
"You left me! You bastard! I need you and you're gone! I can't tell you goodbye! You're not here anymore! You selfish jerk! How dare you leave me here alone? How dare you leave me before I can be as good a friend to you as you've been to me? How do you leave before I tell you how much you mean to me? How dare you leave before I tell you that I love you?" Amy once again collapsed into the hard plastic chair, terror seeping into her as she realized what she'd said, what she felt.  
  
She tried to tell herself she was wrong. She only said that because she was emotional. She felt guilty about never having been a good friend to Ephram and now he was going to die without getting the friendship he deserved. She just said it to ease her conscience. No, there was no use in lying to herself. She knew. It wasn't regret or a product of the extreme pain that now filled her entire body, leaving her physically ill.  
  
It was the truth. Sometime in the course of the night, no the year, she had fallen in love with a dark, sarcastic boy who dressed in black, read weird comic books, dyed his hair purple, and was so incredibly different from anyone she had ever known.  
  
"But what about Colin?" she whispered to herself, remembering the man who had held her back when she was trying to help Ephram. Who was she kidding? Colin wasn't the boy she fell in love with, and even if he was, she didn't think that that "love" could even begin to compare with the overwhelming wave of emotion that had stirred within when she'd seen Ephram's eyes gaze back at her from the other side of her doorway earlier that evening. After all, only immense love could possibly explain the heartache she felt now.  
  
Raising her other hand up to run her fingers through Ephram's soft hair, she sadly smiled at the way the light caught the purple that barely shined on the very tips of the dark strands.  
  
"I feel like I'm dieing, Ephram. It's like someone is sawing through my body, starting with my heart, removing half of me. They're taking my favorite half too. It's the half that makes me smile when there is nothing to smile about, the half that tells me I'm weird and smiles because that's a good thing; it's the half that saved my life. Ephram, I can't live without that half. I'll stop breathing, stop being. So, you see, you can't leave me. I really don't think anyone wants to see me walk around with only half a body. You can't leave. Please, don't leave me." Amy's whispers plead.  
  
She leaned over and kissed his bruised cheek, lips trembling as she choked back a sob. She slowly stood up, disentangling her hand, and sliding her fingers out of his hair, the soft digits stopping for a split second to wipe away the tear she had left behind as it slid down his cheek.  
  
"I love you." Amy whispered, turning and walking out. 


	14. Chapter 13: One Hat Isn't Enough

Chapter 13: One Hat Isn't Enough  
  
So, this was what she was supposed to feel. She didn't like it. It was icky and gross. It hurt. She wished it would go away. She wondered if this was what Ephram felt when he talked about Mommy. She hoped not, she didn't want her brother to feel like this.  
  
He already hurt a lot. That's what her Daddy had said. He said that Ephram was hurt and that they were going to stop him form hurting. He said she wouldn't be able to see him anymore, that's the part Delia didn't like, but he would never hurt again. She didn't like the way this made her feel but she would rather have this icky feeling herself than have Ephram feel it. So, she had decided that not seeing him would be okay. She didn't see Mommy anymore but she still felt her and sometimes she even talked to her. Mommy didn't talk back but Delia knew she was listening. She figured Ephram would listen, too. But she still didn't like not being able to see him again. One hat wasn't enough.  
  
Mommy had given her lots and lots of hats. Daddy had gotten her a hat for every holiday for the last two years, that's a lot of hats. Nonnie and Grandpa had given her a whole collection for her eighth birthday, one hat from every team of every professional sport that played in New York City. But Ephram had only ever given her one hat. He had always said she had enough hats; she didn't need him buying her one. Since she was seven, she had begged for him to get her a hat but he never had. He'd been a big meanie.  
  
Then, one day, just after Mommy went away, he came home and told her he had something for her. She sorta remembered that she had been having that icky hurt feeling for a while and she didn't care what he had but he's been a big dumb bully. He pulled her into his room and pointed at a bag on the bed. He told her to open it and when she did, the icky feeling inside went away. The blue cap didn't have the name of a sports team on it, like all her other hats did, it just had a big red D. D for Delia. It fit her perfectly the second she put it on and the end had already been bent exactly the way she like it. It wasn't even itchy, like new hats usually were.  
  
It became her favorite hat. She didn't wear it very much but when she did any icky feelings she was having would go away. It was the best hat ever but she wanted more. Ephram shouldn't go away. He had only given her one hat.  
  
Standing up in the ugly green chair, Delia tried not to be scared of the big white tube or the pointy thing in Ephram's hand. She put her small hands on the scratchy blanket and whispered into her big brother's ear.  
  
"You can't leave. I only have one hat." 


	15. Chapter 14: A Year Behind

Chapter 14: A Year Behind  
  
"You want to hear a story?" Andy heard himself whisper, looking up from his and his son's entwined hands to Nina's red-eyed gaze.  
  
"Sure," she said softly.  
  
"When Ephram was twelve we went to the lake for a swim. It was one of the few weekends I spent with my family instead of standing in an operating room with my hands inside some stranger's brain. The weather was beautiful and the lake was mostly empty. Julia was taking care of Delia and I was supposed to be keeping an eye on Ephram. The currents had been really dangerous because of a storm off the coast. Ephram was a strong swimmer but my wife told me to watch out just in case. About halfway through the afternoon I got a phone call from work and started talking. An hour later, a lifeguard walked up to me, holding Ephram limp in his arms. He had been caught by a current and nearly drowned. We took him to the hospital. He was fine but Julia was extremely shaken. She had been so terrified. I remember standing in the doorway of the hospital room, listening to them talk. She told Ephram that he wasn't allowed to die before her. It was against the rules. He told her that he didn't want to live if she wasn't with him. Then the two of them made an agreement. They would die together, the same day, the same second. I guess he's fulfilling his promise. He's just a year behind." Andy finished, suddenly wracked by sobs, his voice too choked to continue.  
  
"Oh, Andy." Nina crossed over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, letting his tears soak her shirt. For what felt like hours, Andy let the grief and pain pour out of him in hot, salty drops. He shook and trembled. He choked and suffocated. Then there were no more tears left in him. He'd used them all.  
  
Lifting his head from her shoulder, Andy quietly asked Nina to leave, wanting to be alone to say goodbye. She nodded and stepped around him, her own tears falling. Placing a hand on Ephram's cheek, she gently stroked the discolored skin, then suddenly turned and fled, a sob sounding in her wake.  
  
After hearing the door click shut, Andy closed his eyes and began to speak.  
  
"Julia, I know that you made an agreement. I know that he promised but that was before. Before I knew him, before I needed him. Honey, he's all that has kept me going. He's the only one who broke through my pain and kept me from dieing. You already took half of me with you. If he leaves, the other half will be gone, too. There won't be anything left for Delia. She needs me, too. I would like to say that I could take care of her no matter what but I can't. So, please, break the pact. Let him know that you don't hold him to his promise. Let him know that I love him. I know that he'd be happier with you but I'm selfish. I always have been, you know that. I need him. I need him here, with me. Please, don't let him leave me. Please." Andy ended on a whisper, continuing to plead silently in his head.  
  
With a sigh he stood up, knowing he should say goodbye but unable to make himself do so. He felt he should kiss Ephram's cheek or touch his hair or something but he didn't. He simply turned and left the room. He would tell the doctor he was ready.  
  
As silence once again filled ICU 10, a soft breeze blew through the room. The boy's dark hair shifted as though an invisible hand were running its fingers through the strands. The breeze was strong. It seemed almost to take control of the room, working it's magic and then sweeping out again, as fast as it had come.  
  
The troubling thing was that the window was closed; no breeze should have swept in. Nonetheless, it left behind a strange feeling, incredible love and overwhelming sadness. But the sadness couldn't last.  
  
The soft Colorado breeze was too nice for such feelings. 


	16. Chapter 15: A Gift From A Breeze

A/N: Hi everyone. I know I haven't updated this story in ages. Life's become…. let's just say complicated. Anyway, I wrote this chapter about a year ago but I totally forgot to post it. I was looking at my stats earlier and I saw that a lot of people have me on author alert for this story, I assume for this one anyway, so I decided to answer your questions and satisfy some cravings.

This was not intended to be the last chapter but seeing how much I've updated recently I think it's best if it is. Though, I may decide to write some more. I dunno. But this chapter can stand alone as the end, so here we go.

Chapter 15: A Gift From A Breeze

He had seen this too many times. He had stood back as families said goodbye to their loved ones. He had waited with his fingers poised above that large red button as lovers sobbed, as mothers refused to let go, as children clung desperately. He had ended lives by simply pushing a button. But, for Dr. James Young, this time was different. Whether it was the slight similarity in appearance between Ephram and his own fifteen-year-old son, thestifled sobs slipping without permission out of the mouth of the young womenwho obviously loved the boy, the tears cascading from a fellow "untouchable" doctors eyes, or the little girl who had smiled through her tears and thanked him for taking away her brother's pain; Dr. Young had never felt this deep sadness with any other patient. But he knew what he had to do. Drawing in a shaking breath, he removed the key from his pocket. Weighing the thin piece of metal in his hand, he was suddenly struck with the irony that such a small thing was about to end a life, a life that hadn't even yet been allowed to live.

"No. Stop." Andy placed his hand on the doctor's shoulder, halting his motion towards the ventilator.

"But, Dr. Brown, I thought you had decided." Dr. Young was surprised to hear the small sigh of relief escape his own mouth.

"I'll do it. It's my decision. I should be the one to carry it out."

Again, James felt his shoulders slump and with a quick nod, he stepped aside to give Andy room, room to reach the ventilator, room to unlock the box under which the red button lay, room to get closer to his son's deathbed.

"Simply take this key." Dr. Young handed the small object to Andy, "Unlock the plastic case-,"

"I know how to do it. I've done this before."

Andy gripped the key in his hand so tightly that he felt the sharp grooves bite into his flesh. Going around the back of the ventilator, he unlocked the plastic box and placed his fingers on the large button. Gathering the last shred of strength he had left, he closed his eyes and begged one last time for his son's life.

"Please Julia. Let him go, let me keep him." Andy whispered, eyes squeezed tight.

He raised his head and watched, one last time, as his son's chest rose and fell with life. Then he closed his eyes. He pushed.

Andy waited. He waited to hear the long beep of the heart monitor to tell him it was over. His eyes clenched tight, ears strained to find closure, to hear the confirmation that he had, in fact, just killed his son.

Minutes later, he realized that the beep had yet to change. It continued on, slow but steady. Cursing the gods who had tricked his ears into hearing the deceitful sound, he forced his eyes open, knowing that he would have to see it, have to see that Ephram was gone.

Andrew Brown had seen many beautiful sights in his life. He had seen the lights of New York from the top of the Empire State Building. He had seen the snows of Colorado as they showered a majestic mountain in the dawning hours of the day. He had seen the smile of a woman who loved him. He had seen the green-gray eyes of a newborn. But he had never seen anything like this.

Dr. Young had removed the tubing from Ephram's mouth. The white plastic was gone but somehow, the teenage boy's thin chest continued to rise and fall. Slowly, rising and falling, it moved.

In denial, Andy's logic called to him, and he turned towards Dr. Young, question in his eyes. The white flash of a jacket tail was all that remained of the running doctor as the door swung shut.

Slowly, Andy once again turned back to look at his son. There he remained, same as before, eyes closed, covered in bandages and bruises, completely still, except for the gentle up and down motion of his chest.

"Thank You, Julia."

THE END… or is it?

Thank you so much for all your feedback. I really enjoyed writing this story, even though I kinda forgot about it for a long time. I'm sorry. I hope this answers some of your questions, I know it won't answer all, but I'm sure you can fill in the rest.

Thanks again.


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